Knowing the future shapes what you do in the present. If, for example, you knew you had only one week left to live, it would surely change how you spent the next 7 days.
The same is true spiritually – and that’s the big point in the prophecy of Joel. What we know about the future should profoundly shape how we live today.
The events described by Joel may seem distant or irrelevant, but Joel is determined they must remembered by us, and that that they have deep relevance for us.
1. Remember the Day of the Locusts (1:2–20)
The prophet begins by describing a terrible agricultural disaster - a plague of locusts has swept through the land, destroying every living plant and crop. Swarm after swarm has left nothing behind.
Joel is clear that this event must be remembered. The people are to tell their children, and their children are to tell the next generation. Every corner of society is effected - the drunkards have no wine, thebride-to-be is left to mourn rather than celebrate her wedding, the fields are ruined, the grain destroyed and farmers devastated. Even the worship of God is cancelled - the grain and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord. The Everything has been turned upside down.
But this is no ordinary natural disaster. Joel wants God’s people to recognise it as an act of divine judgement. The Lord had rescued his people, made promises to them and given them a land to live in. Yet he had also warned them that turning away from him would bring judgement. Deuteronomy 28 had specifically warned that locusts would devour their crops if they rebelled against him.
The question is, ‘how should God’s people respond?’ And ‘What on earth does this ancient disaster have to do with us?’ Joel calls the people to mourn, fast and gather together to cry out to the Lord. They must recognise the seriousness of their sin and return to God.
But a careful examination of v15 reveals another reason this disaster must be remembered. “Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near.”
In other words, the past day of the locusts points forward to another day: the future Day of the LORD, when God will come to judge.
The disaster in Joel’s day is like a giant signpost. It reminds us that God's judgement is real, and warns us to be ready for the day when he will bring history to its conclusion.
So then, as well as remembering the day of the locusts we must…
2. Prepare for the Day of the Lord (2:1–17)
In our house, we sometimes talk about ‘the day of Dad’. I may be off in one room and hear a dispute arise in another – it’s clear the children are arguing and the rules are being broken. I may delay for a while, but eventually I have to intervene.
I come in to right the wrongs and restore peace. It is an imperfect illustration, but the Day of the LORD is when God intervenes to right all wrongs and bring a new age of peace. More precisely, it is the day when Jesus Christ returns as judge of all. For any who are unprepared that day will be disastrous.
Joel describes that day in terrifying terms: darkness, gloom, a great and powerful army, the earth shaking and the heavens trembling. Who can endure such a day? Who can stand before a holy God and claim to be without sin? None of us can.
So is there any hope? Yes. God himself tells us how to be ready by returning to him with all our hearts (v12, v13). And what does that return look like? - Joel describes it further by saying – ‘Rend your hearts and not your garments’ (2:13). God is not looking for mere outward religious performance. He wants genuine repentance, a heartfelt turning away from sin and a return to him.
As we return we are assured and reminded of the wonderful character of God. He is ‘gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love’.
He is, on the one hand, a holy Judge who will not ignore sin, but he is also compassionate and ready to forgive those who turn to him. We know this even more than Joel did because we have seen the ultimate expression of God's compassion in Jesus Christ, God's Son, who died in our place, not for his own sin but for ours. In him, sinners can find forgiveness and be ready for the coming day.
We must not invent some candy-floss Christianity that airbrushes out God's judgement. Real kindness tells the truth: God is a just judge, but he is also a gracious Saviour.
Knowing the future shapes what we do in the present. So let us remember God's judgement, return to him with all our hearts, trust in Jesus Christ, and be ready for his return.
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